NFFTY Is…FUTURE

NFFTY Is…Future. Just by looking around and seeing all those filmmakers at NFFTY, you know that lots of them are going to be the NEXT BIG THING. I watch films that were beyond amazing and its hard to believe how these guys, who are my age and younger, are able to produce something so amazing. NFFTY definitely is Future.

Favorite part of NFFTY:
The screenings. I saw films that blew my mind and throughout the films, I kept asking myself how these filmmakers were able to do all that. It made me realize the reason for the huge gap between Egypt and American cinema. It is because Americans work and make such amazing films from a young age. This made me return to Egypt with the will of working harder to decrease this gap for myself and the network of filmmakers in Egypt.

People who inspired me at NFFTY:The three people who inspired me the most were Jesse, Caleb Slain and Colin Levy. Jesse – for being the founder of something that grew to be as large as NFFTY and for making a real difference in people’s lives and film careers. Caleb and Colin – for being my main inspiration as filmmakers. I loved their work; it was full of everything – art, emotion, and inspiration. It’s a shame I wasn’t able to get to know them better during the festival but I’m keeping track of their news and work all the time now. I also loved Airokhsh Faiz Qaisary & Arthur Johnson’s spirit throughout the whole festival!

Screening my film in front of an audience:As my film was in Arabic, I kept asking myself if anyone understood anything from my film and I kept criticizing the film during the screening because it was actually the first time my work was introduced to an audience. But it was a relief that people understood my film and even asked question about my country and its current situation, it made me happy that I shared something with the world that they had no idea about.

How NFFTY has helped me:NFFTY has opened up lots of dimensions that I never knew were there for me. I saw films that I will never forget in my life and it inspired me to work harder for my dream. I was inspired that I could start with something small, but with a great dream and really make a difference in people’s lives through it. NFFTY is also a chance for you to prove to everyone that you’re good enough at what you do and that you can do it.

Why YOU should go for NFFTY:NFFTY is an experience that shouldn’t be missed for the world. It can change everything for you at young age, every idea you had can be completely changed from the things you’ll experience there from film opportunities, people you’ll meet, films you’ll see and the techniques you get to learn. I traveled all the way from Egypt to attend NFFTY and I’ll do it again every time I get the chance to.

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Omar A Rashed, 22, is a young Egyptian filmmaker who discovered his passion for film in early 2010. Since then, he has never looked back. This Architecture graduate is a self-taught filmmaker has directed 4 short films, several commercials and a documentary. His short film El Kenisa (The Church) won the NFFTY Earth Award in 2012